Orange is the New Black: The 21 craziest moments thus far

Piper beats the holy living life out of Pennsatucky

After prolonged threats from the redneck inmate Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett, Piper is suddenly in a showdown at the end of the first season. After weeks of pithy arguing and religious pontificating on Doggett’s part, Doggett confronts Piper in the yard with a sharpened crucifix as CO Healy merely looks on. As Doggett closes in on Piper with the shank, Healy slowly turns and walks away. In that moment, Piper snaps, and our sweet, twee Brooklyn Piper turns into Jail Piper. She charges Doggett, pins her to the ground and viciously beats her to a bloody pulp with her delicate kombucha-loving hands.

This moment marks an important shift in Piper’s character — away from Brooklyn stereotype, closer to something darker and more profound. In a way, this version of Piper feels more well-rounded. She reeks less of white privilege and more of steeled self-discovery. She’s pared down to survivalist mode, and she no longer cares about making people like her.

It’s a strange metaphor for how we all grow as people — the moment one stops worrying about what other people think is the moment that one is free to flourish. Piper genuinely becomes a boss in this moment, not because she beat the living daylights out of someone, but because she gave way to her unbridled desire to assert herself. And then in a funny turn of events, Crazy Eyes knocks her out.